Influence vs. Control

Term

Influence vs. Control

Idea level

Concept

Definition

Influence vs. Control is a conceptual distinction articulated by Yuen Yuen Ang to differentiate appropriate modes of action in complex versus complicated settings. In complex systems characterized by interdependence and uncertainty (e.g., political economies, natural ecologies), outcomes cannot be precisely controlled and must instead be shaped through influence over adaptive processes, whereas control in complicated, machine-like settings assumes predictable causality and clear end-goals.

Sources

First articulation:

• Ang, Yuen Yuen. How China Escaped the Poverty Trap (2016), Chapter 2, Table 2.1 (Complicated vs. Complex).

Theoretical Synthesis

• Ang, Yuen Yuen. “Adaptive Political Economy: Toward a New Paradigm.” World Politics (2024). Table 1 (reprinted from How China Escaped the Poverty Trap)

Genealogy

[Paradigm] AIM (Adaptive, Inclusive, Moral Political Economy)

→ [Pillar] Adaptive Political Economy (APE)

→ [Concept] Complex ≠ Complicated

→ [Concept] Influence vs. Control

→ [Model] Directed Improvisation

Quotes

“Once the premises of complicated versus complex systems are clearly spelled out, it becomes clear that much of social science analysis is predicated on a complicated worldview, with an accompanying focus on control over outcomes rather than influence over processes.”

— Ang, How China Escaped the Poverty Trap (2016), Chapter 2, p. 52

“One essential step toward promoting adaptation is to distinguish control from influence. In complicated situations where the range of problems and solutions can be predicted in advance, principals seek to exercise control over agents in order to achieve desired outcomes. But in complex settings—exemplified by all political economies—the possible scope of problems and solutions and even preferences lies beyond human anticipation and planning. In these situations, seeking to exert full control is futile and may even foreclose useful solutions. Nevertheless, there is room to exert influence so as to direct bottom-up adaptation toward constructive and collective purposes.”

— Ang, How China Escaped the Poverty Trap (2016), Chapter 7, p. 240

“The differences between complicated machines and complex systems are not semantic but have profound implications for the way social scientists understand causality, indeterminacy, human agency, and institutional design.”

— Ang, Adaptive Political Economy (2024)

Concept Constellation

Across Ang’s work, Influence vs. Control consistently co-appears with the following concepts and analytic themes:

• Directed Improvisation

• Adaptive Political Economy

• Complex adaptive systems

• Complicated ≠ Complex

• Uncertainty ≠ risk

• Variation, selection, niche creation

• In contrast to: Complicated; Mechanical Thinking; Industrial-Colonial Paradigm